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We sadly say Good-bye to our beloved college football season. Unfortunately we didn't do very well this year, but the good part of the team is very young and will hopefully bring us back within the next 2 yrs. Cristiana had a great time playing with mommy's old UM pompoms and she looks so adorable in this uniform my mom bought her (I think I had one similar to this one, but I don't think I could ever fit into those again). Though La Familia Crespo wore their UM outfits on Sat. to support the team, we sadly still lost the bowl game.

Cristiana's 1st Christmas was very exciting and fun for us. We really didn't do a whole lot since she's been giving us really rough nights lately and we were pooped but just having her open presents and share such a special day with our little angel was enough for us. Opening presents was quite the ordeal, as I expected and everyone said, she didn't seem very interested in the gifts themselves, all she wanted to do was eat the paper. She LOVES eating paper and we had to literally fight with her to make sure she wasn't eating all the fun and colorful wrapping paper. She did enjoy some of the gifts for a few min. but was later more interested in her usual activities of pulling up to stand everywhere she has the opportunity to and knocking everything down from the coffee table, the entertainment center, and anywhere else she could reach.This was our best Christmas so far, since God has gifted us with our precious Cristiana. What bettter gift could anyone ask for?

We had our annual Noche Buena dinner at our home with my mom and Cristiana's Godparents (Justin and Chantelle). In the Hispanic culture, our big dinner takes place on Christmas Eve and we usually play games until it is time to head to midnight mass. This year's plans ofcourse changed due to Cristiana, no midnight mass for us, even though we were up, since, yes, she's still waking up all throughout the night, and dinner and fun were over by 8pm due to her bedtime. We still had a great time and enjoyed Cristiana's silly behavior all throughout dinner.

My friend Toya had to work over time on Christmas Eve, so unfortunately could not join us for dinner but she did visit Cristiana early this week. Toya was Cristiana's first and so far only babysitter.We missed you Toya and hope you had a great trip up to VA!

This week Grandma and I took Cristiana to meet Santa at Bass Pro Shop in the Festival Bay Mall. Bass Pro Shop you ask? What an odd place to meet Santa you'd think, but we read in the paper that Bass Pro Shop had FREE pictures with Santa, and who can say no to free? Well, we found out why they were free. Though he was a good looking Santa, he was not a very nice one and the young gentleman taking the pictures did not even attempt to make Cristiana smile. I guess you get what you pay for. But we still had a great time walking around the mall and Bass Pro Shop itself (it's really nicely decorated). Huge Fireplace at Bass Pro Shop entrance

We wanted to wish everyone a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. May the celebration of our Lord's birth fill your hearts and lives with so much joy and love. We are especially excited this Christmas since it is Cristiana's 1st Christmas. It is no longer about Jaime and I, it is now all about the kids.

Saturday was one of Cristiana's friend's, Reagan's, birthday party at Gymboree. Unfortunately Cristiana had to miss this one because she's had a runny nose (no, actually I would call it a dripping faucet) and a pretty nasty cough since Monday. We were hoping she'd get better to celebrate with Reagan but unfortunately this is a long lasting one. Sorry we missed it but hope you had a great time and ate LOTS of cake!

Sunday, the Crespo Family headed out to the Orlando Christmas Parade. This year they hosted the parade at night which was really nice because most of the floats and cars were decorated with lights. Cristiana seemed to really enjoy the bands as well as the dancers/twirlers from the different academies (she's got dancing in her blood). We sat in a great grassy spot towards the beginning of the route in order to leave as soon as it was done. I'm sure Cristiana will enjoy things like this more as she gets older (she seemed a bit overwhelmed by the police sirens as well as the horns on both the fire truck and a train). Overall we had a great time together.

Cristiana has lots of fun activities she does lately throughout the day, like turning on and off the lights (especially in the bathroom), using all the furniture in the living room as a playground, but she seems to mostly enjoy taking EVERYTHING out of the diaper bag. She will climb through the coffee table and even on the printer just to get to the bag and then proceeds to take one thing out at a time and toss it, as with disinterest, and then she will sit there (as in the picture) and enjoy the mess she has created. As I've mentioned in a previous post, we call her our little destructive force (or sometimes Godzilla) because she likes to make a mess and take things apart; but she also puts things away, so it makes for a great happy medium!

Yesterday we went to another of Cristiana's friends 1st birthday party. Grace had her party at a different park which I'm sure I've driven by it a million times and never knew it existed. I still can't believe all these little ones are already turning 1. Where has the time gone? We had a great time eating leaves and creating puddles of water with the really cute sippie cup Tracy made for all the babies. We had fun!Happy Birthday Gracie!

Yesterday Cristiana and I went to the Mommy and Baby Christmas Party. It still amazes me how much and how quickly our little ones have grown. Cristiana has grown up with most of these babies (some she has known since she was 3 wks old) so it's so nice to see them interact and practice what they've learned how to do. We had a babies book exchange which was very fun because we let the babies pick out the one they wanted. Of course many were more interested in the wrapping paper or bows that were on the books but I'm sure they'll appreciate their books eventually.

Amelia pushing Emma along (Amelia was nice enough to give a few babies a ride)

On Sunday we went to one of Cristiana's friends 1st birthday party. It was in a nice park in College Park and all the little ones seemed to really enjoy being there. Daisy had her own cake but didn't dive into it like everyone expected her to, maybe she was a bit shy since everyone was staring at her. We had a great time. We'll be going to many more 1st birthday parties in the next few months since all the little ones are about the same age.

Here is Cristiana eating some yummy carrots as a snack. I know she likes carrots pureed but didn't think she would sit there and eat carrot pieces as a snack, and to my surprise she loved them. She couldn't get enough. She continues to amaze me since mommy is such a picky eater.

The Crespo Family had a lovely Thanksgiving Linner (lunch/dinner) at Cristiana's god parent's. We had all the goodies to eat with the additional Spanish black beans and rice dish. Cristiana was a bit under the weather but still was able to have her first taste of turkey. I think she was a bit confused about the texture since even her finger foods tend to have a smooth texture (carrots, bananas, pears, blueberries, etc) so I'm not quite sure if she liked it or not. I guess we'll have to try it at home a few more times to see what she thinks. Thank you Chantelle and Justin for having us over for such a yummy meal. We love you guys!This Thanksgiving we have so much to be thankful for. We'd like to Thank God for the giving us the most beautiful and wonderful gift parents could ever ask for, our precious daughter. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be parents to this beautiful angel. Thank you for the love we find in each others eyes and hearts every day and for the endurance to face all the trials and tribulations the world throws at us. Thank you for our wonderful friends and family that bless our lives with their presence on a daily basis. And from me personally, Thank you for my wonderful and loving husband who has become such an amazing father and continues to be an amazing man. I don't know where I would be without him and his love in my life.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday I was able to catch up with a few of my teacher friends that I haven't seen in a while. They all had the week off which was a well deserved break since they're last day fell during the storm that came through in the beginning of the school year. It's crazy to imagine that I would have also been working through until this past week if I would have stayed teaching, but Thankfully I've had the privilege of staying home everyday with my little monster.On Monday we had a picnic lunch at Lake Eola with Devan which I've known since I first moved up to Orlando and worked at Animal Kingdom. It was a beautiful day and Devan and Crisitana had the chance to play catch up since they haven't seen each other since before Crisitana could hold her head up (which was a LONG time ago). We'll be seeing much more of Devan in the next few months since she'll be leaving us for Colorado come June next year. On Tuesday we caught up with some old Boone teachers Jen and Kathy. We were all hired the same year as science teachers and became very good friends due to the insanity of teaching. Jen is still teaching at Boone but Kathy is now working for Florida Hospital. We ate at Wendy's which brings back sweet memories of lunch at Boone.But to my surprise the Wendy's at Florida Hospital does NOT serve bacon. I was in shock and disappointed because I love me some bacon. Thanks ladies for hanging out with us. Crisitana and I enjoyed our time with all three of you and hope to see you all VERY soon!

The West Side Girls got together to catch up since Amelia and Monica were in Thailand for about a month. We had lunch at a Japanese restaurant and then did some shopping at Once Upon a Child. Those of you in shock that I would eat at a Japanese restaurant with my limited palate, don't worry I only had Tempura Ice cream (fried ice cream), which was very yummy! Once upon a Child has a little play area so we alternated who watched the girls so we could do a little bit of solo shopping which was quite a treat. I can't believe the girls have grown so much in such short amount of time and finally Crisitiana has caught up to both of them (not completely, but more or less, it's definitely not the big difference as seen in a prior post of the west side girls). We had fun as usual gals!

Cristiana approves of her Christmas gift I bought at Once Upon a Child.

Cristiana has not really been interested in standing up or walking yet (which was fine with me, less I have to worry about) but the other day I was putting some of her old clothes away in a bin and she kept trying to peek at what I was doing. I walked to the closet to get more clothes and then I saw her pull herself up to her knees and then completely up. I was so impressed! She stayed standing for a bit rummaging through all the bags and clothes. I did noticed that the bin was lower than most things around the house so maybe she hadn't pulled herself up before because she really couldn't reach anything (she's a bit on the short side for her age). Nevertheless, we're on our way. By the way that mess of books in the background is all Cristiana's doing, we call her our destructive force. GOOOOO Cristiana!

On Monday, we continued my birthday celebration by having a picnic in the park during Jaime's lunch hour. The weather was absolutely beautiful and Cristiana enjoyed seeing the swans as well as riding the swings for the very first time. Make sure to pause the music all the way at the bottom of the blog page before you hit play on the video.

We celebrated my 28th birthday this past Saturday since my actual birthday lands on Monday. All I wanted this birthday was a massage (which was definitely needed since I still don't get more than 1 hr- 1 1/2 hr stretches of sleep all night long) and lunch at Bongos Cuban Cafe in Downtown Disney. I got my 50 min. massage at the Zahanati Spa in the Animal Kingdom Lodge (I figured this resort would keep Jaime and Cristianaentertained while mommy got pampered plus I was able to get a discount which is always helpful). It was really nice to get some me time and relax, oh yea.. and the massage was great as well.Cristiana and daddy spent their time looking at the animals and playing in the play ground. We got some really cute pics of Cristiana on the slide.We then headed to downtown Disney to eat at Bongos where Cristiana had her very first taste of Cuban bread and she could not getenough of it (it's in her blood).I love eating here because it's the only place in Orlando that makes authentic Cuban food (the only reason I miss Miami), many restaurants claim they do, but sadly they don't. We then waited out the rain at Virgin Megastore where Cristiana enjoyed listening to some old-school Cuban music. Cristianaof course passed out in the car after a long day and Jaime and I finished off my birthday celebration with some yummy Marble Slab ice cream. YUMMY!!!!Thanks hunny for giving me such an awesome day and making me feel appreciated.

So here are some more pictures of other foods that have been introduced. I promise I won't post pictures of every food that has been introduced, just the first 100 (just kidding). As always I'm so impressed with her eating habits, Lord knows that mommy doesn't eat half of the things I've given her. Except for the Avocado, as seen in a previous post, she has pretty much liked everything. It took her a bit to enjoy the home made peas and carrots because they were a bit chunkier than her usual stuff but after a day or two she seemed to like them just fine. She loves her fresh pears and mango as well as homemade mashed potatoes and brown rice (not shown).

We finally got Cristiana's ears pierced last Wednesday. We were planning on getting them done around her 6 month visit but the nurse said her ears were too small and we should wait until her 9 month visit. Cristiana did well, only cried a little and I think it was more because she was being held down and surrounded by people (the nurse, the P.A, and both her mom and dad) which I'm sure was a bit nerve raking, but I was happy to get them done now before she starts grabbing at her ears (she doesn't even know they are there). Now no one can say "What a cute boy," even though I'm sure it will still happen (people would still ask what gender she was even though she had a big bow on her hair so earrings might not make a difference).

My mom payed us a visit Halloween weekend to spend some time with her beloved granddaughter. Though our way of doing things are quite different, we all had a really great time. Cristiana was a bit hesitant at first with grandma since she hasn't seen her since June, but after a few minutes, she was crazy about her. We didn't do much because Cristiana was a bit under the weather due to the quick change of temperature that occurred that week (she was very stuffy and her voice was quite hoarse) but we enjoyed grandmas company at home. My mom spent a lot of her time on the floor with Crisitana and of course picking her up from where she had crawled to and placing her back on her alphabet mat (Cristiana has free roam of the house with me and dad, but grandma did not want her on the cold tile). Abuelita will be coming back up for Cristiana's 1st Christmas.

I can't believe it's been 9 months already since little Cristiana blessed us with her presence in this world. It feels like just yesterday she was still in my belly. Our 9 month check up went extremely well. She's grown 2 1/2 inches in the past 3 months (total 26 in.) and has gained 3 lbs 7 oz. (total - 17lbs 9oz) We are actually in the 25-50% category of weight which is awesome since we spent so much time in the low 5% which made me very uneasy, but what can I say, she is getting lots of mommy's milk still and she LOVES her fruits and veggies (and her oatmeal too). She has become a total clown, I guess she got that from her parents and is always such a delight to wake up to (every 2 hrs. throughout the night....yes...she is still not sleeping). Every morning she wakes up happy as can be, which just makes the sleepless nights seem insignificant, and she spends her days just crawling around trying to see what kind of trouble she can get into and get away with. Diaper changes have become a major battle ground for her since she hates to be confined now and she definitely lets you know that she is not happy when you take something away from her (can we say temper tantrums..yes....every once in a while) and she has become quite the chatter box which again she got from her parents who both can't shut up. Cristiana keeps mommy quite busy these days, even the doctor said "she must be a handful because she is so busy" she spent her check up grabbing every thing the doctor had with him (we don't have a shy one in our hands, that's for sure). I can't even imagine what it will be like when she starts walking, mommy's going to have to buy some skates.

We are madly and truly in love with this little gift from God and we treasure every moment we spend with her.